NHTSA Complaint #11101576 — 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK

THE QUALITY OF THE WINDSHIELD LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN A YEAR I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY WINDSHIELD. IN BOTH OCCASIONS, THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. I THOUGHT THE FIRST CRACK WAS CAUSED BY A SMALL OBJECT/PROJECTILE I COULD NOT SEE. THEN THE SECOND CRACK OCCURRED A FEW MONTHS LATER (ABOUT 5 MONTHS APART) AROUND THE SAME SPOT (DRIVER SIDE) AS THE FIRST ONE. IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES, THE CRACK RADIATED QUICKLY FROM THE DRIVER SIDE ALL THE WAY TO THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD. IN BOTH CASES, EVEN IF THE CRACK WAS CAUSED BY A SMALL OBJECT, THE IMPACT WAS TOO SMALL TO EXPLAIN SUCH MAJOR DAMAGE. THE FIRST TIME THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED, IT WAS REPLACED BY A SUBARU RECOMMENDED PART AND NOT BY AN AFTERMARKET WINDSHIELD. I WILL USE A SUBARU RECOMMENDED PART AGAIN. HOWEVER, BASED ON THE EVIDENCE, I DO NOT HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE THAT THE PROBLEM WILL NOT RESURFACE. I THINK THE WINDSHIELD IS FUNDAMENTALLY DEFECTIVE.